Re: C&TSRR = Getting The Locomotive Ready = Air

They do this to remove the fines and dust out of the coal. Not doing so will allow the fines to settle down through the coal pile and into the bottom of the coal space. Eventually you end up with a tender full of fines with a small layer of good coal on top.

When I was there (oh boy, another "then I was a Kid story".....) the engines were not coaled in Antonito, just in Chama. That did a pretty good job of keeping the fines down, as we shoveled it all in the firebox. When I was firing, one of things I did in the morning before leaving Antonito was to shovel the coal pile ahead against the closed coal doors to keep a good supply at hand for the trip west. At Osier, more shoveling ahead was needed to get home. The tenders on '80's hold 9.5 tons, we used 3-4 tons a day, leaving a couple of tons in the tender when we got home.

Eventually the fines still built up, especially in the latter part of the season. We used to wash the coal pile on the sly. As the RR paid the same amount for good coal as it paid for fines, management looked at washing the coal pile as wasting money. "You guys get paid to put the coal in the firebox, not wash it out on the ground. That's nothing but wasted fuel." So.... we did it at Sublette or Cumbres when no one was looking.

The last place I worked that burned coal regularly shorted the tender coal loading and had the fireman shovel the old fines and stuff ahead and burn it, keeping the tenders cleaner.

One had to be careful when washing the coal pile. First you closed all the coal doors - including the opening at the bottom. Then you pulled up the apron between the engine and tender. Then let'er rip. Turn the water off then water started to slosh over the top of the coal pile at the front of the tender. Then wait while the black mudslide poured out the bottom of the coal doors. Failure to lift the apron and close all the doors resulted in a mudslide filling the cab.

I know this from experience.

We did other things like running the deck hose into the depleted coal pile of fines when drifting down the hill into Chama. The pile of black mud would ooze out through the gangway. We'd then shovel the resulting pile of wet black goop in the firebox. In that it didn't immediately burn, and just sat there smoldering, it made great banking material.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/2018 11:17AM by Earl.